A NEW LIFE, A NEW ZOE
by tierra.nueva
Summary: This story presents the reasons Elizabeth & Jim decided that it was a ggod idea to have a third illegal child.


It is another atypical day for Eli. She is doing the housewife chores early in the morning. A few months have passed since she left her medical practice and she feels useless; so she spent her time doing whatever distracts her. She is doing pro bono work in a trauma institution for those with limited resources. This give her the liberty to have his own work schedule and have the free time she will need because of her new condition.

While she is doing the dishes that Maddy & Josh left dirty after breakfast she was listening to the news. Most of them were bad news. That makes her remember Malcolm, a close friend from college times, and meditate about if she made the right decision; she wasn't necessarily thinking about her. Suddenly something caught her attention; she heard some familiar names of places on the news. She sat down and rewinds the DVR to watch carefully what the news was about.

Fire and black smoke fill the screen. Images that look like a train crash are seen in the background. It wasn't really a crash; the reporter informs that it was a terrorist attack of a subversive group. There are little survivors; it was a suicide attack of a fanatic that enters the train fully loaded with explosives. The route of that train sound familiar to her, it was the train that crosses in front of the hospital where she used to work. She was worried about her work buddies that used it to get to work.

The list of passengers of the train was quickly available from the train station. The names crossed the bottom of the screen so their relative or friends can call the emergency number to get the info about their condition. Eli was reading attentively the list; however, she didn't recognize any familiar name. After a few minutes reading she saw a name. She rewind the DVR again, pause the video and leans back on the couch, she was in shock only caressing her belly as a reflex movement. She can't believe what she is watching and fight hard to not think that maybe she is facing the worst case scenario she have being afraid of, even worse.

Those who survived were taken to the hospital. She needs to get there, she need to know what their condition is. She gets her rebreather and exits his building. While walking through the dirty alleys people in the corners was watching the images in his portable video receivers. There was a huge holographic bulletin board broadcasting the images too. Then the news anchorman interrupts to confirm that Mr. and Mrs. Fernsby, the main partners of the corporation that runs the hospital were among the casualties of the attack.

They have no children. She has lost two previous pregnancies. They want a baby, but not an adopted one; they wanted one of their own flesh and blood. The Population Control Law prohibits very clearly any artificial pregnancy method. There are enough orphan babies & kids available for adoption for those couple with fertility or pregnancy problems. They have considered hiring a surrogate mother for their baby, but it was too risky. They need a trust-worthy woman in good physical condition; preferably, she should be a mature woman who already has her own kids. They have the best candidate in front of their own eyes.

They were friends of Eli's family and decided that she was the perfect candidate to be a surrogate mother to have their baby. She was a healthy and athletic woman, and also a doctor, she can't fail. They made her an offer she couldn't resist. They offer to pay her an amount of money more than enough to move to one of the dome cities once the baby births. Also, they would pay the equivalent to her salary and will cover all the pregnancy costs. She asks them to let her work pro bono as long as the pregnancy is not evident. They suggest that she could work in the trauma center so she gets out of sight of the elite class that visits their hospital.

Everything was going perfect. Only nine months and they'll get a new life. After so many years of studies, research, medical practice and raising her children the pregnancy and the pro bono work felt like vacations. Now she meditates about their future. She have no income, they will need the money for the pregnancy expenses. Besides, their new home was an extra expense, it was paid by the Fernsbys, they wanted Eli to be in a more comfortable place so she can have the baby in his own house, if necessary. They'll have to return to their old apartment.

Abortion has never being an option for her, even for a baby that is not her own. Certainly they would have a new life after nine months; they will be violators of the Population Control Law. While meditating about their new future a word from his Greek course came to his mind. It was the perfect word to describe the situation she is facing. She decided to have the baby and bring a new Life to this world, yes, a new Zoe.


End file.
